American fans of the Monster Hunter franchise will soon be once again turned loose upon an unsuspecting population of exotic prey.

Capcom previewed its new soon-to-be-imported Monster Hunter Tri on Tuesday, November 17th. Pheonix Wright: Ace Attourney for the Wii was also on display, as was Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. The event was set up like a mock class/school, and allowed attendees to test the battle demo with a series of pre-generated characters. It was well-attended, although for the most part the development team of the game could not attend.

The latest entry in the popular hack-‘n-slash knows where the bread and butter of its gameplay remains: beating the life out of powerful quarries with a variety of interesting weapons. This hearty fare is garnished with a wide range of new additions, from online and split-screen multiplayer to what producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, who spoke at the press event, promises is the franchise’s most robust single-player story system to date, accompanied by an NPC companion named “Cha-Cha.” Read On